tellers, so i think that always helps bringing something to the table is the approach you take with telling the story and if you get behind the words and tell the story, i think it makes it feel real and fresh and new. ♪ >> if people can come in, leave their worries and their troubles at the door, and escape from it all for two hours, we all need that. we need it ourselves, to escape from the madness that can be our day-to-day lives now, and lose yourself in music that is from the heart, it's from the soul, and if people leave feeling better than when they came in, then our job is done. ♪

top of the hour. i'm suzanne malveaux. thanks for joining us on this christmas day. merry christmas. across the globe christians are celebrating the birth of jesus christ. ♪ repeat, repeat the sounding joy ♪ >> in afghanistan hundreds of nato troops stationed in kabul sang festive songs and lit candles during a christmas church service. ♪ >> people in sri lanka celebrated the dawn of christmas during a midnight mass. >> merry christmas! give me a hug! >> and in new york a man dressed up as santa claus is bringing a little christmas cheer to neighborhoods damaged by superstorm sandy.

he is even handing gifts to children who lost toys and homes in that storm. pope benedict xvi has delivered his annual christmas message, listen. >> translator: in this world there is a good soil that god has prepared. >> in his eighth message as pope, he spoke before 50,000 followers in st. peter's squares. he called for an end to the bloodshed in syria. he condemned conflicts in mali, a nigeria and china. in bethlehem christians celebrated with a midnight mass. it was held at the church of the holy nativity on the west bank. mahmoud abbas was among those in the crowd at the 1700-year-old church. >> this is the time of year when we remember that god sent his only son to serve, not to be served. it is my prayer this christmas

day -- >> in great britain the queen he's christmas message was quite different this year. for the first time it was actually broadcast in 3-d, clearly a sign of times. when her grandfather began the christmas day practice 80 years ago, there was no tv. snow, ice, tornadoes, triple threat. much of the nation this christmas. snow already falling across parts of arkansas and oklahoma. the arkansas highway and transportation department is warning drivers to stay off the roads if they can. in oregon rescue crews have safely located a group of hikers who had been lost in snowy conditions since sunday. 20 searchers used specialized vehicles and skis to scour parts of mt. hood. the three say they are lucky, lucky to be alive. >> we spent the night on the floor, on the snow in the snow cave with just the clothes on our backs. >> hikers were united with their

families yesterday just in time for christmas. so what can we expect for the rest of the holiday, the next few days? i want to bring in alexandra steele. there's a lot going on this christm christmas, yes? >> just in time for christmas. feet of snow. hi, everyone. good afternoon. look at this veritable cornucopia of color. we have the rain, heavy at times, tornado warnings to boot. we have the pink, which is showing you where the ice is which we've seen a lot of, and the developing snow. this is the big picture. these red boxes delineating where tornado watches are. and we have seen tornadoes developing. at houston we have a tornado watch until 4:00, new orleans until 1:00. these are central times but we could see those get pushed further out in the day as well. here is where the twrntiornado warnings are. this is texas, eastern texas, but look at this line. this tornado, this storm that has the potential and has seen

rotation moving east at 55 miles per hour. all of these storms moving east-northeast and will continue to push eastward and take their severity with them. big picture for tornadoes, really the propensity for quite a serious tornado outbreak. damaging winds, 60 to 80 miles per hour with straight-line winds and even some hail. throughout the early afternoon, houston to new orleans, later in the day from new orleans to birmingham through atlanta, georgia. tonight in atlanta, tonight in birmingham, and then not out of the woods. tomorrow this whole system with all its energy pushes to the east coast. raleigh down towards charleston and jacksonville to the 95 corridor to boot. that's tomorrow. here is where the snow is falling, 3 to 5 inches in oklahoma city, but that's just the beginning. here is where the threat will be. look at paducah. blizzard warnings posted tonight. we're going watch all this snow move into the northeast, suzanne, so this is just really the tip of the iceberg. we could see a foot-plus of snow in western new york tomorrow. >> there is so much to follow there. >> i could do the whole show.

you just sit back and let me keep going for another 30 minutes. >> we need to hunker down. >> you hunker down and i'll stay on. how is that? >> we got a little bit more news to cover. thank you. but we'll bring you back, alexandra steele. merry christmas. first laid yes michelle obama taking in the christmas spirit. the white house just releasing a picture of the first lady answering calls from children who called no rad's santa tracker control center to ask about how santa was doing around the globe. mrs. obama watched santa's progress from hawaii last night. i want to bring in brianna keilar who joins us from hawaii. i guess if anybody has the inside scoop to where santa is, it is probably the first lady, right, don't you think? >> reporter: exactly right, and it was very cute. she was talking to kids who were tracking santa as norad followed where he was going. it's obviously still very early here, suzanne, as you know, but we don't have anything on the

president's public schedule today. that said, he normally does visit with troops on christmas day so we won't be surprised at all if he does that again. sam cast, the white house chef, has come on this trip out to hawaii, and he will be preparing the meal for the obamas at the house that they're renting about 45 minutes drive from where we are in waikiki. also another sort of fun thing, this involving the first lady, the white house releasing a video of her appearance earlier this month at the national children's medical center. this is a tradition that dates back to the 1950s and it's pretty cute as you can see, bo kind of stealing the show, helping her read 'twas the night before christmas. >> coming to the children's hospital to see all of you, and i want to thank my escorts jordan and a.j. you guys are awesome. you did a fabulous job escorting me here. i made it. [ applause ]

well done. and, of course, we have santa claus, who is really the star of the show. >> i just love that little boy on the left, and he got such a kick out of bo. he was petting him through the whole story. >> brianna, i can't believe how big bo is. the last time -- when bo was first introduced to us at the white house, he was a little pubby. that dog is really big there. but she's handling it all well. >> reporter: he clearly still thinks he is a little puppy. >> he kind of steals the show. brianna, i know the family is celebrating christmas, but surely there is some more work to be done obviously trying to avoid the huge tax hikes, the spending cuts that are going to take affect for the new year. do we know if the president sen gauged in talks or negotiations regarding the fiscal cliff? >> reporter: we know the white house is at this point, suzanne. it's really the white house and senate democrats who are talking at this point. congressional democrats and republicans are not talking, and this is important to note as the senate is set to reconvene on

thursday. at some point take up some sort of measure that harry reid will have cobbled together hoping to get some republican support. but right now it is possible, of course, to resolve this. it's also possible according to a lot of sources that we're talking to that we do go over the cliff, but at this point the white house talking to senate democrats about what their proposal is that they'll be putting out here in the nex week. >> if there was some break through i'm assuming the president would cut his vacation short and go back to washington? is that what you understand? >> reporter: they haven't made it official, suzanne, but i think that is the expectation. talking with sources. it's not really a matter of if the president is going back to washington. it seems to be more a matter of when will he go back. so that hasn't been announced. i'm sure at some point they will make it official and that will be put in motion, but it's really hard to see a scenario where the senate is reconvenesing. all of this is sort of cruising to the fiscal cliff and the president would stay here in hawaii. >> brianna, that means your trip

is cut short as well so you will be back in washington and we will see you in washington soon. have a great christmas, brianna. good to see you. former president george h.w. bush is spendinging christmas in the hospital. doctors were hoping he would be home for the holiday but he's had a few setbacks in the last week including a fever. the former president, who is 88, has been in a houston hospital for more than a month after initially being diagnosed with bronchitis. hollywood has lost a veteran actor. >> trying to write something that could mean a lot to me. >> 90-year-old jack klugman best known as the messy sports writer oscar madison in tv's "odd couple" died at his home in california yesterday. klugman won two emmys for playing oscar madison and later portrayed medical examiner dr. r. quincy in "quincy." much-needed day off for police officers in newtown. after working nonstop since the

school shooting tragedy, find out how they are getting a break from the officers in their neighboring communities. hi, i'm captain jeni david and i want to say hello to my beautiful baby girls, marisa and katie, my husband, ben, and all my family an friends stationed at minot air force base. love you all, happy holidays, and see you son. [ male announcer ] it's that time of year again. time for citi price rewind. because your daughter really wants that pink castle thing. and you really don't want to pay more than you have to. only citi price rewind automatically searches for the lowest price. and if it finds one, you get refunded the difference. just use your citi card and register your purchase online. have a super sparkly day! ok. [ male announcer ] now all you need is a magic carriage.

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for a love this strong, dawn only feeds him iams. compared to other leading brands, it has 50% more animal protein. ...to help keep rocky's body as strong as a love that never fades... if he ever lets her leave again. iams. keep love strong. police in webster, new york, says the gunman who torched his lakeside home then skilled two first responders had served time for killing his grandmother. yes. he was barred from having a gun, but at a news conference just a short time ago, the police chief said that 62-year-old william

spangler had an arsenal with him. i want to bring in poppy harlow with the latest from new york. this is bizarre. this is a guy who served time for killing his grandmother and was armed essentially. >> exactly. i mean, he was released from prison in new york in 1998 on parole until 2006 and out of nowhere set a trap, that's what police are saying, through a fire. first responders yesterday morning responding to a typical house fire. four of them came, four were shot, two were killed, two were severely injured by that man you just saw, 62-year-old william spangler setting up this ambush. he wasn't supposed to have a weapon, but he had what police are calling an arsenal, suzanne. .38 caliber revolver, a shotgun, and a bushmaster 223 caliber rifle, shooting at those first responders. very disturbing development this morning, the latest press conference that was just held. the police chief in webster, new york, which is upstate near

rochester, saying that the gunman left a note. listen. >> investigators did locate a typewritten note from spangler which specified his intent. i can't release the note. it's evidentiary. but i will read to you one of the sentences out of the two or three-page typewritten note that really clearly goes to his intent while the note does not go to motive. quote, i still have to get ready to see how much of the neighborhood i can burn down and do what i like doing best, killing people, end quote. >> just to reiterate, do what i like doing best, killing people. extremely disturbing. the police chief there saying he has no doubt that mental health issues were involved, but interestingly, cnn spoke with a

neighbor of mr. spangler who described him as a very nice guy, suzanne, saying he'd come over to their house for picnics. another weird development in this is that the sister of william spangler, cheryl spangler, is missing. police are looking for her to question her. apparently it was a very tense relationship between mr. spangler and his sister. >> that is such a disturbing story, poppy. do we have any sense of the condition of those who were wounded? >> we do have an update on two firefighters. theodore scardino and joseph hoffsteder. they are both in stable condition but are both in intensive care. i want to show you a picture of lieutenant mike chiapperini. an extraordinary man. also a police chief. his friends and colleagues would joke around and say which hat are you wearing today? he served both in the local police and the fire department. he was actually named firefighter of the year by his

department. he was killed on christmas eve. also killed was thomas catroopka. >> tragic all around. poppy harlow, thank you very much. in newtown, connecticut, police have been worked around the clock since the sandy hook elementary school shooting but thanks to the generosity of fellow officers, the entire force has the day off today. police from neighboring towns, they are patrolling the city. the volunteers, they are donating their overtime pay to newtown and to sandy hook elementary school charities. meanwhile, near sandy hook elementary, a candlelight vigil is now under way. it began at midnight and will continue for 24 hours. volunteers, they're going to take half hour shifts to make sure that those candles keep burning. u.s. troops spreading holiday cheer from overseas. up next, a look at how our

military is marking the christmas holiday. but first, a special message from a solgder serving in kuwait. >> i'm specialist ashley eady from third brigade. i want to give a shout out to my brother christopher mall lad stationed in alaska. i love you, merry christmas, and i miss you. 315 horsepower. what's that in reindeer-power? [ laughs ] [ pencil scratches ] [ male announcer ] chevy's giving more. get the best offer of the year -- 0% apr financing for 60 months plus $1,000 holiday bonus cash. plus trade up for an additional $1,000 trade-in allowance. hurry. bonus cash ends january 2nd. prego?! but i've bought ragu for years. [ thinking ] wonder what other questionable choices i've made? i choose date number 2! whooo!

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. britain's margaret thatcher is spending christmas day at a hospital in london. she's still recovering from surgery last week to remove a growth in her bladder. thatcher is 87 and has suffered several strokes. venezuela vice president is

quoted today as saying he has spoken by phone with president hugo chavez who reportedly suffered severe complications during cancer surgery in cuba two weeks ago. his lengthy recovery could complicate his scheduled swearing in next month for another term in office. and south africa's nelson mandela is reported by the current president jacob zuma to be in good spirits this christmas. the former leader has been hospitalized since december 8th first with a lung infection. we wish them all the best. well, away from their families, they're miles away from home, troops stationed in bases around the world is finding ways to celebrate christmas. i want to bring in our barbara starr to talk a little bit about the troops in afghanistan and how they are spending this day. hey, barbara. >> reporter: hi, suzanne. 12 years now in the war zone for troops in afghanistan. about 66,000 u.s. troops in afghanistan. we came across some video that has been posted by the pentagon on this day showing how they are

celebrating, getting those meals. the military distributes to about 200 locations around the world where troops are located. some of the stats, 60,000 pounds of beef, 20,000 pounds of ham, 45,000 pounds of turkey, some christmas prayers, some meals, some good cheer. they're hoping a lot less troops will be in the war zone come next christmas, but if you want to see a little untraditional celebrating by military troops, you got to go check out the brits because nobody but nobody does christmas better than the brits. these are some pictures posted by the ministry of defense. they conducted a sleigh ride. 15 teams of british troops with some unconventional celebrating pulling their sleighs across the desert houst desertscape, the mud, all that

in southern afghanistan. dressing up in a little less than regulation, even a little less than santa's regulation, but everybody just trying to have a bit of cheer on this holiday. suzanne? >> it's great. okay. barbara, thanks again. really appreciate it. we hope those guys and the women, of course, are doing well. it must be tough without their families but they look like they have a sense of humor about it all. thank you, barbara. from a leap of faith to one of a kind planet in our solar system. the top scientific and technological breakthroughs of 2012 right after this. ? hair pulls, stink eyes, man we see eveything. oh, it's the old man. hold on, i gotta send something out. you can have two apps open at the same time? how'd you do that? it's the galaxy note 10.1 man, it just does it. how do you think they made it? magic. do more with the samsung galaxy note 10.1. available at best buy and st buy mobile stores.

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if he can't, no one can. that's why ally has a raise your rate cd. ally bank. your money needs an ally. excuse me, sir i'm gonna have to ask you to power down your little word game. i think your friends will understand. oh no, it's actually my geico app...see? ...i just uh paid my bill. did you really? from the plane? yeah, i can manage my policy, get roadside assistance, pretty much access geico 24/7. sounds a little too good to be true sir. i'll believe that when pigs fly. ok, did she seriously just say that? geico. just click away with our free mobile app. 2012 has seen some major break throughs in science and

technology. our john zarrella taking a look at the year that's going to go down in history. >> reporter: at number ten, a revolutionary camera called litro. >> it's such a powerful technology break through that this will for ever change how we take pictures. >> it allows the picture's focus to be changed after it's been taken. number nine, nasa's dawn spacecraft sent back data about ans aster royed called ves that. it appears vesta went through some stages of planetary evolution. it's one of a kind in the solar system. >> what's clear to us is vesta appears to be the only intact protoe planet left. >> reporter: number eight you may have heard the term god particle. the european nuclear research organization claims to have found it. why is it a big deal?

think big bang theory. >> and this particle we think was, in fact, a particle like this was the fuse that set off the explosion which created the universe. >> reporter: researchers found it after analyzing data from proton collisions generated by a particle accelerated. at seven, a leap of faith. felix baumgartner's record breaking jump. baumgartner broke the freefall record and the sound barrier jumping from 128,000 feet in a revolutionary spacesuit. >> i said i know the whole world is watching now and i wish the world to see what i see. >> reporter: six, young children dying at an alarming rate in cambodia and with alarming speed. it was a medical mystery. our doctor sanjay gupta was there when the mystery was solved. >> they found that those organisms in conjunction with these kids getting steroids probably led to such an

aggressive course. >> reporter: number five, spacex became the first commercial company to rendezvous and dock a spacecraft at the international space station. it marked a new beginning. private companies taking over for nasa sending cargo and eventually humans to the station. number four, scientists found the great barrier reef, the largest in the world, is in trouble. >> half of the coral on the great barrier reef has disappeared over the last 27 years. that's a momentous change. >> reporter: they attribute much of the loss to storm damage. at number three we go to the pacific and the deepest part of any ocean in the world with famous film director and explorer james cameron. first, test dives. >> about five major systems failures that prevented me from going on. >> reporter: finally in a submersible called deep sea challenger, cameron went down 35,000 feet. number two, melting ice. scientists using satellite and aircraft data have found the

greenland and antarctic ice sheets are losing three times as much ice as 20 years ago. giant rifts appeared in places like antarctic's pine island glacier. combined, antarctica and greenland have contributed. >> the rover curiositied prompted an outpouring of emotion from the nasa team. curiosity is roaming the landing site hunting for signatures of past life, water, carbon, methane. if it finds any, curiosity might well be our number one again next year. john zarrella, cnn, miami. >> and cnn revisited the story that is captures the country's attention tp don lemon shares with you the biggest stories of

the year. top ten of 2012 tonight at 7:00 eastern. it seems that santa claus has learned to have a little fun on the job. he was spotted christmas eve making waves on the potomac. this is the annual water skiing santa. this is in maryland. even even saw a jet skiing grinch. of course, it is tough having to work christmas eve but somebody has to do it. this is a santa sighting this steamboat springs colorado. and a squad of santas rumbling through a village not far from the north pole. this is in sweden. presumably santa cooling his heels there after his trek around the globe. check it out. we love it. thank you for joining us on this christmas. merry christmas, happy holidays. whatever you celebrate, enjoy your family and your friends on this special day. thanks again. "giving in focus" starts now. each december our nation's

capital comes alive with color, light, and a special spirit of generosity. that's true in towns coast to coast and once again our fine photojournalists at cnn have gone out to capture their stories. this is "giving in focus." welcome. i'm tom foreman. this year has been a tough one for so many people in so many ways. economically, emotionally, and yet once again people, as they always do, have found ways to help each other. take, for example, our first story. it's about a group of men who live in the very area where that superstorm sandy came ashore, and yet despite their troubles found ways to reach out to their community. photojournalist oliver janney introduces us to the gray beards. >> this is our opportunity to

really help a lot of people. >> we were totally wiped out like many other people. we lost all our belongings. we lost our car. we lost a friend across the street. >> a lot of really ugly basketball games were held right here. >> gray beards. extremely busy. a lot of money coming in and got to get the checks in and write out checks. >> that's our mission, to help our neighbor in their time of need. we have a lot of tentacles. we reached out in a lot of different ways. back in 1995 we had the st. francis summer classic basketball program and i was one of the fellows that helped run the league, and some guy that is have recently moved in rockaway had a common bond and that common bond was basketball. after 9/11 one fellow sent me an e-mail that said gray beards of columbus, like the knights of columbus we can become a not for

profit. my qualifications was i was the guy that collected $20 at the bar after we collected basketball. >> to have steve show up at my house today, it means a lot. we totally have zero. we lost everything. a couple items here and there, but -- >> hello? when you do something for somebody, you know, you go through the tears, you go through the thanks, the hugs and everything, but at the end of the day when you walk away, you go -- your name came across our desk, so from the gray beards. >> you don't have to do that, steve. >> huh? >> you don't have to do that? >> how you holding up? okay. i did good good. i helped somebody. >> little something. the gray beards changed a

person's life. there's an express in rockaway that you're borned with sand in your diapers. maybe after years of irritation you want to feel good so you go out and help people, you know? >> reporter: many of the folks helping out in the wake of sandy are not part of organized groups, but they're simply neighbors helping neighbors like those that photojournalist chris turner found. >> we thought we were going to lose our lives. >> in an instant just gont. i'm going to lose my mind. >> feel like why me. >> there was nothing you could do. >> i can't explain. >> you don't understand. we need help. >> this is one of the toughest times that i ever faced in my life. the people really didn't know of the devastation that actually occurred on staten island firsthand because you really needed to be here to really see it with your eyes. you needed to be down seeing

people's lives destroyed. >> if i just sit back and make like this didn't happen, i'd be lying and fooling myself. i will be there for my community, and there's thousands and thousands, millions of people just like me that are out there looking to, you know, help and rebuild. >> would you like some food? >> i gave them a promise i would stay until they didn't need me anymore. they come for their hot food, their supplies. we go out and make sure if they need any help cleaning, demolition. seeing the people, seeing the tears, holding them while they were crying, it really touched home, and i could see they really needed somebody, somebody to see every day knowing that if it was one person, that one person was there for them and

wasn't going to leave them back out. >> in these hard times, it touches your heart deep down inside that knowing that there's people out there that care. >> when i go home at night, i could put my head on the pillow and go to sleep knowing i actually helped a whole bunch of people feel better about their situation maybe just a little bit. >> just don't forget us. keep us in your heart and in your prayers and in your thoughts. if you could help the people out of staten island in any way, please, do. >> reporter: when we return, the hard times have not kept people from being generous in bean town. and chicago, the city that works, helping young people work toward better days. when "giving in focus" continues. [ woman ] ring. ring.

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>> reporter: the economy has given many families a whole new

set of worry this is holiday season about what they can afford, what they can't, and how to make up the difference. thank goodness up in boston one charitable program started way back in the 1950s appears to be as strong as ever. photojournalist bob crowley has that story. >> dear globe santa, i am writing for your help. >> as with many other americans, the economy is tough and times are very difficult financially. >> it's hard being homeless with nowhere to live, no income, and no place to make a christmas or buy presents. >> a holiday season is usually very tough for our family. >> making packages for the globe santa foundation. on west side we keep the boys' toys, other side girls' toys. we have 30 people working for me today. all these packages are going out to children in the boston area

where the families are, you know, facing difficult times during this economy. we'll send out about 32,000 packages. >> globe santa is the holiday gift assistance program started by the boston globe in 1956. we've seen a number of families that are writing to globe santa for the first time because they've been on unemployment for the last 18 months or longer. the economy over the last fi years has had a major impact on how many gifts that we have in putting together each year and that, of course, has put the stress on the donors who we rely on. we've been able to sustain this program. >> it takes a number of people who care about those in the community who can't afford to have their holiday gifts and their presents to make sure that christmas is enjoyed by all. >> we've all had tough times. this gives us a chance to give

back to the community and just let them know there are people out there that care. please help my kids have a good christmas. god bless you. >> reporter: in chicago a different type of giving is focused more on year-round issues. mindful of violence facing many young people on the streets there, one program is reaching out to give kids a sense of achievement, of safety, and maybe a good right hook. photojournalist derek davis takes us into the ring. >> i grew up watching boxing all my life. >> boxing is really, really hard. >> takes a lot of discipline. >> some people make it look easy, but it's really hard. as soon as i walked in those doors, i just fell in love with boxing. there's different things that the gym offers you and different things that the streets offer you. most of the time the street, it would lead you to death for the

choices you make. >> streets are really, really bad. >> there's a good one or two shootings every weekend. of it keeps kids off the street. like if the kid is at home, friends come over, let's go out, they're out in the street, and they come here. it's a real nice environment for them. everybody get into the ring. we're going to have the rap session. >> this week i want to talk about unity. in this gym we are a community. >> we not only do boxing, we do youth development. when you walk in the door, we're not only teaching you boxing, we're also teaching you that, you know, you have to go to school. we have three or four tutors that the we're trying to get these kids' grades up. >> i used to have average like "b," "c." now i get "a"s and bs. >> i joined boxing to stay away from the streets and to get my life together. it literally saved my life,

boxing. i want these kids to go to college for the next generation to be more powerful in life. we're more than just tough. we're also smart. >> i want to become a champion, and i want to show people that this neighborhood is not only about violence. that there's people here in the neighborhood that are determined to become somebody in life. >> if i help two, three kids a year, that's already a difference. just like boxing saved me, i'm trying to save others. >> reporter: in just a moment, the dogs that came to the rescue in a warm and friendly way, and the gift that is ever green. cute. but don't you have any apps on your phone that can make your life easier? who do you think i am, quicken loans? at quicken loans, we'll provide you with myql mobile. this amazingly useful app allows you to take pictures of your mortgage documents using an iphone or android smart phone...

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[ male announcer ] when diarrhea hits, kaopectate stops it fast. powerful liquid relief speeds to the source. fast. [ male announcer ] stop the uh-oh fast with kaopectate. >> reporter: no community suffered more in this past year than newtown, connecticut. the recent school shootings there shocked the entire nation, especially coming as they did in the season that so many people associate with generosity and hope. efforts to comfort the people of newtown have come from all over the country, of course, including one group that came from illinois with friends on

all fours. once again here is photojournalist oliver janne yeshg. >> he's a comfort dog. you can pet him. it says right here, please pet me. a comfort dog is one who brings comfort to other people when they're suffering or hurting or bring happiness to people, helps people process their grief. >> it's okay, abby. that's a good girl. >> our dogs a month ago when sandy hit, we were out in new york and new jersey. children, they'll come up sad and they'll walk away happy. petting the dog relaxes a person. >> hello, you sweet thing. you're so cute. >> petting a dog helps them to process whatever it is they're going through. >> it does help. it does help. i love dogs. there's nothing like that connection. >> dogs are big lovers and they show unconditional love and they're big furry counselors because they're confidential and they don't keep notes. >> reporter: the idea of children suffering is always hard to take, whether from

violence, poverty, or serious illness, and the desire to help in such circumstances is driving one truly unusual effort. photojournalist effie nidham is bringing that story our way. >> i really had this dream of becoming this big pop star. ♪ i'll sing for you i finally landed a record deal, it didn't work out. they actually dropped me out of the picture. i was really distraught. we're rocking and rolling. okay. ♪ she fights like a girl and she lights up our world ♪ ♪ alexandra >> i'm alexandra, nice to meet you. ♪ she fights like a girl ♪ alexandra >> they made me a song because i'm special. >> alexandra has acute limb foe

blass tick leukemia t-cell. >> what's that? >> chemo. >> she practices on this chemo duck. >> songs of love have created close to 24,000 songs. wove produced personalized song for children and teens who are chronically or terminally ill free of charge. >> i love pickles. >> she loves pickles so i'm thinking she eats pickles. >> we fill out a application, it asks questions about our favorite color. >> special interests, strong and brave. >> fight like a girl. is that your motto? >> that's why we're doing the song to for her, boost her self-esteem and it gives me a great honor and privilege to be

doing this. ♪ >> we received the song and we were so happy. everybody loves it. ♪ she'll eat pickles >> the fact you may not necessarily get a hit song doesn't mean that you're a failure. you write a song for a sick child, you bring happiness. to me that's the biggest success of all. >> who is one of your favorite singers? >> justin bieber. >>. ♪ alexandra >> and john beltser now, right? because he writes great songs. ♪ now she has her own song >> reporter: when we return, the place where the wreaths come from and where giving grows and grows. [ female announcer ] what if the next big thing, isn't a thing at all? it's lots of things. all waking up. ♪ becoming part of the global phenomenon we call the internet of everything.

♪ trees will talk to networks will talk to scientists about climate change. cars will talk to road sensors will talk to stoplights about traffic efficiency. the ambulance will talk to patient records will talk to doctors about saving lives. it's going to be amazing. and exciting. and maybe, most remarkably, not that far away. the next big thing? we're going to wake the world up. ♪ and watch, with eyes wide, as it gets to work. ♪ cisco. tomorrow starts here. [ buzzing ] bye dad. drive safe. k. love you. [ chirping, buzzing continues ] [ horn honks ] [ buzzing continues ]

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each winter a gift of gratitude appears in arlington national cemetery. thousands and thousands of holiday wreaths for those who served the country. but up where those wreaths begin in maine, a different type of remembrance has taken root.

photojournalist jeremy moorhead has our final story. >> i know when chris died we kept thinking about how we were going to remember him. and we kept thinking that his spirit was moving through the trees every time you saw them moving. i seem to be drawn to maine even though i have never lived here. it's pretty amazing. >> we're in the wreath business and have been since 1971. columbia falls is a little town in coastal washington county. the perfect little country town kind of thing. we're looking for 12 to 18-inch pieces. as fast is this brush is coming in, we're using it on the other end. we're out on the land that produces the tips for national wreaths across america day. >> each wreath is made of balsam that's picked off of our own land. it began as a family tradition to donate 5,000 wreaths to

arlington national cemetery. >> that is the picture that really took this from a tradition to a national nonprofit. a great source of pride for my family. it's our little way of giving back to the country is through this veterans wreath program and also the new veteran remembrance tree program. >> captain brent moral u.s. marine corps. this is another tree that's been tagged. corporal benjamin cot, forever in my heart. >> my dad is looking for a way of connecting the families of the veterans to the area, and we saw as gold star families came and gold star mothers, they loved coming out and seeing where the balsam grew. >> this is the one i got out of the car, saw it, and i knew that it was part of chris' energy that was helping me pick it out. there he is. i put the picture one on there. christer was my son. he was born in august of '73 and

he died 38 days after 9/11. the dog tags hang closer to the branches on the inside. the ribbon designated red, white, and blue that it's been dedicated to a loved one. they're never cut down. the greens that are growing now will be used for the wreaths that will go to arlington. >> and so when we lay wreaths today, remember why we're here, remember the lives and families of those who served. >> that is an amazing gift that we as family members know, that our loved ones will not be forgotten. >> reporter: and with that we hope you've enjoyed this gift from the fine photojournalists at cnn who work all year long to bring you the stories of our world. on their behalf, i'm tom foreman, thanks for watching, and to you and your family, the very best of the holidays.

hi, everyone. i'm meteorologist alexandra steele in the cnn severe weather center. well, snow and severe weather dominating this christmas i'm sorry to say. you can see pictures abound of what we've seen. i want to start things off in the southeast where severe weather is certainly a player. you can see about 5,000 lightning strikes in the last hour alone. so these red boxes from houston east to new orleans delineating tornado watch boxes meaning that atmospherically conditions are ripe for tornadoes to develop and we already have tornado warnings, meaning we have seen that spin, that clockwise spin. what we're going to see here, as this line pushes eastward, we're going to watch the severe weather push eastward as well. so here is where we've seen some rotation, and these pink boxes showing you where we've got tornado warnings. now, this is eastern texas and into louisiana, so you can see east of houston now, and look at this line. these tornado warnings, i'm sure

if you're watching us, it's beeping along your screen. these tornado warnings, meaning these storms have the propensity and have shown rotation in the radar, they are pushing eastward at 50, 55 miles per hour. this line certainly is intense. the problem is we're going to watch this intensity even pick up through the afternoon and into the evening. so the biggest severe weather threat, here it is. this morning we've seen it from houston all the way to new orleans. and then through the afternoon we're going to watch that severe weather threat push eastward, bring it into birmingham and atlanta, georgia. later this afternoon, maybe 4:00, 5,::00, 6:00 and into tonight. and then it pushes eastward. today damaging winds, 60 to 80-mile-per-hour winds. big hail, potentially an inch in diameter and the severity of these tornadoes developing. could turn out to be a severe weather event. that's where it moves for tomorrow pushing farther eastward. but